Work
Human Rights Council Resolution: Rights of the child: a holistic approach to the protection and promotion of the rights of children working and/or living on the street (A/HRC/RES/16/12)
Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council 16/12 - Rights of the child: a holistic approach to the protection and promotion of the rights of children working and/or living on the street
Migration and youth: Harnessing opportunities for development
We live in a globalizing world, in constant change. The search for better economic opportunities and for a better lifestyle, on the one hand; and political instability and armed conflicts, violence and discrimination, climate change and natural disasters, on the other, are some of the reasons behind international and internal migration flows – from South to North, and more significantly, across and within countries in the South.
Framework of Action - Global March Against Child Labour
This International Conference on Child Labour in Agriculture (28-30 July 2012, Washington D.C., U.S.A.):
Message by Marta Santos Pais, United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence against Children on the occasion of World Day against Child Labour
I welcome the celebration today of the World Day against Child Labour, which is an opportunity to renew our commitment to end the plight of the more than 215 million children worldwide who are still trapped in child labour and denied their basic human rights.
The exploitation of children through labour, in particular its worst forms, is a major obstacle to realizing the dream of a world where violence against children has no place. The United Nations Study on Violence against Children showed that in workplaces, including in domestic service, employers often enjoy impunity in inflicting emotional and physical violence on children.
Joint Statement from the high-level round table on the role of Regional Organizations on the Protection of Children from Violence
We, the representatives of the Council of Europe, the League of Arab States, MERCOSUR Pro-Tempore Chairmanship of the Permanent Commission of the Initiative Nin@Sur, the South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children (SAIEVAC), and the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child participating, with UNICEF, in the first held meeting of Regional Organizations and Institutions on Violence against Children, organized by the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence against Children (SRSG on VAC) (...)
Santo Domingo Declaration to prevent and address violence against children
Authorities from Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and Dominican Republic, gathered in Santo Domingo in a regional follow-up meeting to the UN Study on Violence against Children, adopted a strategic declaration to promote progress in the implementation of the recommendations of the UN Study.
National Consultation on Social Justice for Children: To End Child Abuse and Violence Against Children
On November 4, 2011, the SRSG participated in a national consultation organized on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Brooklyn College of the City University of New York as the founding institution of the interdisciplinary field of Children’s Studies and its Children’s Studies Center for Research, Policy and Public Service. The event aimed at drawing attention to the prevalence of all forms of violence against children and their maltreatment in the United States. This national consultation discussed critical dimensions concerning the widespread use of violence against children, and ways of effectively preventing its incidence, including in the home, in schools, in child protection systems, in juvenile/criminal justice systems, in health and mental institutions and in other social settings.
Statement by the SRSG on Violence against Children on the Adoption of ILO Convention on Domestic Workers
The Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence against Children warmly welcomes the adoption by the annual Conference of the International Labour Organization (ILO) of a new international convention which will contribute to improving the working conditions of domestic workers worldwide, and which will protect children from falling victim to child domestic labour.
SRSG welcomes the adoption of a new protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child introducing a system of individual complaints for children
"The adoption by the Human Rights Council of a new Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child is an historical and commendable decision.
The new protocol will enable children to challenge the violation of their human rights and will consolidate the international system of acountability for human rights.
This important decision is critical to break the invisibility and impunity surrounding incidents of violence against children, and to empower child victims to report and complaint without fear of reprisals and further victimization.